ORANGEBURG, N.Y. – The Caldwell College men's basketball team outscored Mercy College 41-18 in the second half to win its first game of the season, 73-50 at the James Clancy Tournament, held at Dominican College's Hennessy Center Sunday afternoon. The victory ends an 11-game losing streak extending back to last season and gives the Cougars a 1-9 mark on the year. The Mavericks remain winless at 0-11.

Mercy erased a five-point Caldwell lead by scoring 12 straight points, including six points from Hasaan Powell, to take a 20-13 advantage midway through the first half. A three-pointer by sophomore guard Malcolm Austin (Albany, NY/Christian Brothers) helped to spark a 14-2 run that put the Cougars on top 27-23 with 5:17 left in the half. Mercy finished out the period outscoring Caldwell 9-5 as the teams entered halftime tied at 32-32. Powell tallied nine points in the half to lead the Mavericks, while sophomore guard Nik Otovic (Kraljevo, Serbia) notched seven points for the Cougars.

Caldwell came out of the break determined to end its losing ways, scoring the first 11 points of the second half. Senior guard John Reed (Wall, NJ/Wall) buried a pair of threes in the run, with Brimley adding a conventional three-point play to put the Cougars ahead 43-22 with 15:37 remaining. The lead grew to 53-39 at the 10:17 mark before Mercy answered with three-pointers by Jimmy Gunville and Tyler Jones sandwiched around a basket from senior forward Matt Cohen (Forked River, NJ/Manasquan). Following the three by Jones that made the score 55-45 Caldwell, the Cougars tallied 13 of the next 15 points as part of an 18-5 run to close out the game and wrap up their first win since Feb. 24 of last season.

Caldwell shot 64.0 percent (16-of-25) from the field in the second half while holding Mercy to just five field goals in 24 attempts (20.8 percent) after halftime. Cohen (pictured), who was 7-of-8 from the floor in the second half and 9-of-11 for the game, registered 18 points and a career-high 12 rebounds in the win. Otovic added 13 points, four rebounds and six assists, while Austin scored 13 points. Powell and Jones each had 10 points for Mercy, with Powell grabbing a team-best eight boards.

Caldwell resumes Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference play with a league game at Post University on Tuesday, Jan. 5. Tip-off is set for 8:00 p.m. in Waterbury, Conn.